Caelditha

Keep by the Sea

A Shelter and a Storm

The night passes with Daphid hooking up with Lady Kells and Mother being able to make a nice dessert with what Claire foraged.

Claire awakes in the night to a strange sound, like a rumble, that is something more than wind rushing over the ruined keep.

Claire wakes up Taren, Taren wakes up Daphid, Daphid wakes up Lady Kells and Mother. Lady Kells says this is a normal occurrence.

Mother and Gwen give no shits, apparently.

Daphid checks the horses. Lady Kells are fine, but the group’s mounts are freaking out.

Daphid goes to take a peek beyond the walls of the keep and sees a hill…moving. It’s really scary in a major way.

The hill has a face now? Daphid is having a very bad time and can’t look at it for long.

Claire gets honey from kitchen and smears it over portholes of the keep because reasons.

Daphid comes back in and tries to assure Taren that everything is fine, but his body language shows that he’s been frightened.

Everyone goes back to sleep and the wind dies down.

In the morning, Mother is furious to find that someone has smeared the honey around the keep. Lady Kells lays down the law and says that by the time they come back with eggs, this better be cleaned up.

Daphid checks again in the sunlight and confirms that he can see a path through the grass. Whatever he saw was real.

Breakfast is nice but then things get real because Daphid calls out Lady Kells asking why she isn’t keeping her name going. Kells bitterly admits that she’s barren and Daphid clarifies that she could name any confidant if she had them.

There’s a lot of back and forth but it boils down to the fact that she’s oath-bound to Earl Mac Iffyd and he wants her lands to be returned to him once she dies.

Daphid gets Gwen to offer up the idea they had: Kells get married to Lord Vortigern. They try and sell her on what a good guy he is.

After some more discussing and we try to figure out what the hell feudal law would do, Lady Kells agrees that it would be a good idea.

Lady Kells gives a cloak pin with her house symbol on it to send with a letter of introduction.

We leave on good terms and head out onto the road. A storm is quickly heading towards us so we pick up the pace to make it to the city.

The wind picks up smoke coming from a portion of the city. It looks like there was a fire that is almost extinguished.

The weather goes from a threat to bad rain and lightning and the group hauls ass to get to the town for shelter. There is a lightning strike behind us and the cliffside shakes as we’re covered in dust from the impact.

We’re hauled into the portculis by a guard who also gets soaked in his attempts to give us shelter. He’s grumpy but admits that at least the rain will put out the fire in the warehouse district.

There are two inns to stay at, the Golden Zephyr and the Kraken, as well as two Varigal houses.

He warns us not to be out after dark, lest the “Moraigen” gets us.

The group makes it to the Varigal house which is impressively large with loads of storage space for packages. The Varigal at the counter is playing with his cat as he greets us.

We drop off the packages, introduce ourselves, and he gives us welcome. The Varigals are offered hospitality, but Gwen and Daphid are free to sit and dry themselves.

The group is greeted in the resting room by Bost, who is a Varigal tending a spit with a small pig and playing a game of chess with himself. He’s friendly, and offers us a meal with him. Taren plays him in a game of chess.

Bost gives us a little info about town and heads up to his bed. Gwen leaves a coin for the meal he shared, and writes the letter to send to Lord V. The group decides to head to the tavern/inn together as it is only early afternoon.

They gather up the animals and take them to the stable attached to the Zephyr and surprise a group of kids that attend the stables. We get the animals attended and the kids are nice and cute.

We run into a person who works at the inn and start to get rooms reserved at the “best inn in the city.”

The inn is a little pricey but not too bad. The common room is huge and very nice with a big fireplace, Right now it is full of merchants that have come to sell weird goods to Magentists.

Gwen asks if they’re in need of a minstrel, and they are, but Prydaim states that they have a certain standard to uphold. She offers Gwen an audition after she has time to dry off and change. She judges us as a bit of bumpkins.

Daphid escorts her down the stairs and Pyrdaim has to fight the urge to curtsy at the sight of Gwen done up properly.